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Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity | 
 enlarge | Author: David Allen
Publisher: Viking/Allen Lane
Category: Book
Buy Used: $59.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  445 reviews
Sales Rank: 1220226
Format: Import
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 267
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
ISBN: 0670889067
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.7
EAN: 9780670889068
ASIN: 0670889067
Publication Date: January 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Some wear on cover and pages, ex-library, some stamps and stickers on book, some spine creases.
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Book Description
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. Veteran coach and management consultant David Allen recognizes that time management is useless the minute your schedule is interrupted; setting priorities isn't relevant when your e-mail is down; procrastination solutions won't help if your goals aren't clear. Instead, Allen shares with readers the proven methods he has already introduced in seminars and at top organizations across the country. The key to Getting Things Done? Relaxation.
Allen's premise is simple: our ability to be productive is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when our minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve stress-free productivity. His seamless system teaches us how to identify, track, and-most important-choose the next action on all our tasks, commitments, and projects and thus master all the demands on our time while unleashing our creative potential. The book's stylish, dynamic design makes it easy to follow Allen's tips, examples, and inspiration to achieve what we all seek-energy, focus, and relaxed control.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 440 more reviews...
 How to get things done August 30, 2008
I'd much rather have it as a video. Those of us who have trouble getting everything done on a timely basis DON'T have time to sit and read a self-help book this verbose.
 Life changing.. August 28, 2008
First, I want to say that I'd listened to the audio book of this years ago. And at the time it didn't resonate with me AT ALL. Frankly I'm not sure I finished the audio--but either way I couldn't remember any of it other than it was in my library.
Fast forward a couple years.. I adopted Tim Ferris' 4HWW method of listing tasks on an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of plain paper. That worked great for me for a while. While I'm a tech guy, I like things that are effective, work anywhere, don't require batteries, etc.
I then wanted to--as David says: "Get off the runway" with my tasks and start managing with a more project/goal/initiative-centric approach. To me that was a big problem with the "tasks" approach--you get buried in "to do" stuff and never get above the trees.
Additionally, in my situation I had huge leakage in delegating or following up with other people with my requests, questions, etc. So the process for handling emails that required responses alone has radically altered how I work and manage my own time.
I recently finished GTD and it was like an epiphany. During the first 1/3 of the book though I felt like "okay, I got the preaching--how do I *implement* this", and actually purchased/read other systems in the middle. Ultimately coming back to and finishing this book. I'm very happy that I did.
In my opinion, you should take what works for you from the book and integrate it with your life/style. For me the 43 folders didn't make sense as I am so nomadic with my work. But it is a good concept. For me, everything has to be electronic and ideally live out on the internet cloud somewhere. So naturally some of my tools will be different than his. But the *system* is what's key.
The gold is simply getting you to see "stuff" coming into your life as things that need to be processed from your Inbox (the goal being Inbox Zero), and an effective system of processing, then handling things once they're organized.
Also, I like how there aren't any "special" requirements, like you have to buy a special organizer, get certain software, buy their printed pages, etc. I am currently using a $7 calendar/organizer (with cool doodling) and $15/year for the "pro" version of Toodledo (the base version is free). It also has "slim" web access via iPhone.. so I can access my lists from practically anywhere. Well worth it to organize my life.
Again, for me this has been life-altering. It's taken a lot of the stress of worrying about stuff falling through the cracks, not being busy all the time, etc. And ultimately that's what I wanted to achieve.
Great book August 25, 2008
I was very satisfied with this purchase, this book takes all the things you already know how to do (e.g., create lists, prioritize, organize), and compiles it into a system which is practical and very effective. I now realize that this is the key step I've been missing in my personal effectiveness and cannot recommend it highly enough.
 A Frustrating Read! August 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having heard so much about this management system, I read the book--what a frustrating experience! I was hooked from the beginning and implemented a couple of suggestions with a large party I was then planning and Mr. Allen's suggestions certainly helped me define the ultimate purpose for my party and next actions, and I became much more effective in my preparations. But then I got on to Chapter 3 and following and totally bombed: had I not read this already? And what about these meaningless quotes in the margins that are so distracting? It only got worse and worse as I read on and I became so stressed about all my unfinished business that I lost sleep! I knew from my first experience that there were pearls of wisdom in this book, so I started from the beginning again and discovered that all your really need to read and implement is Chapter 2. So I set up my office as described (without the label maker, I don't need another tool to clutter my desk, and computer-generated labels work very well). Then I started collecting my STUFF and put it in my inbox, mind you, not all of it at once as he recommends, that's what was stressing me out so much. Then I started processing what was in my inbox, and adding to it anything I come across (thoughts or physical stuff). Also, I'm still making daily lists but they're mostly derived from my "next actions" list. The ideas are excellent, but the presentation is not good, this book demoralized me at first instead of energizing me, hence only three stars.
 Defniitely worth the buy August 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As with most books like this, a great deal of the content is common sense. But as is always the case with me, formalizing it and explaining it is always what I need.
He explains the natural thought process of a project in order to help you get a grasp of what things need to be done in order to achieve your outstanding goals.
He explains why you can't ever relax because you have so much to do, and how to get over that stress so that you can relax during those times you want to relax!
He gives you a system, which you can use as-is or tailor to your personal taste, that essentially guarantees that nothing gets lost, everything gets done and puts you in control.
I know it sounds like an ad, but as I started with, the content is true and makes sense.
Admittedly, I'm still pretty new at this system, and have to improve how I work with it, but so far I am loving it.
Also, if you have a BlackBerry, look for the "NextAction!" software. It's not great software, but it's good enough to follow the system. The main thing that I don't like about the NextAction! is that I find it difficult to manage the tasks in Microsoft Outlook, so I have to stick with Outlook to manage my mail-based tasks and my BB for my non-mail based tasks, but that's not too bad for me.
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